TREADING WATER...in the desert!

Today's blog is dedicated to Nancy Lokhorst whose words I hear in my head encouraging me to write the next page of our adventure here.
I hesitate to write today as I find myself in the midst of struggle and I want to keep my comments positive in light of life here in Saudi Arabia. However, here goes....


On September 1st, we moved to a new compound where there is so much more to offer us. Daily planned bus trips to malls, grocery stores, souks, "coffee mornings" on other compounds, activities of all kinds, walking, pilates, yoga, bowling, crafts, drawing, music and so much more. You can be as busy as you desire here.
Our villa is more "North American" in décor and is very comfortable. I'd like to send pictures but for security reasons we simply are not permitted to send any over social media. Be assured, however, that we are very comfortable and safe.


At the end of September we visited Dubai for a few days. It was incredibly humid there. Can't imagine being there mid-summer!!!!! We enjoyed a visit to Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. It took us about 30 seconds to get to the 124th floor and we stepped off the elevator to an "open to the sky" observation deck. It was incredible to see the surrounding city and the beautiful water fountains below. Did you know that the Burj has it's own scented air system???
Carli knows all the amazing details of the building. She remembers those things very well.
We also visited Jameira Beach and of course the great Dubai Mall. We saw many fancy, expensive cars including Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Porsche, Lambourgini, and others I don't even remember the names of. One of them was gold-plated. Incredible!


Carli has begun her school year at the American Iternational School and is doing very well. One of the requirements at this school is that the students give so many hours of service each year. The school organizes trips to other countries for a "Week Without Walls" at the end of February. Carli has chosen to go to Thailand as her first choice with Cambodia as her second choice and Vietnam as her third. We won't know until early December which she will actually go to. We will keep you posted!


If you read my last blog you will see that we booked a trip to Australia which we would have already done. However, Carli must not miss more than 7 classes per semester so we had to change our plans. We are now booked during spring break to fly to Manilla, Phillipines for a few days then on to Bangkok, Thailand for a week. We look forward to seeing more of the world around us.


Next month Clint will go to London again for a few days, Carli will go to Bahrain and I will go to
Al Khobar. Then we will also go together to Bahrain for a few days. We feel very privileged.


We have hired a gardener and a cleaning lady. I feel a bit spoiled in having someone clean for me but we decided to do this more to help them rather than just spoil ourselves. These lovely people live with next to nothing and send all their money to their home countries to help their impoverished families. I remember as a young adult being hired as a nanny to help a family. I'm sure that my service to them was in no way measurable against the help it was in my life to live with such a loving and dedicated family. I learned so many life lessons there that I still draw on. Perhaps I can now pay it forward.


Clint's work continues to be interesting for him. He works long hours....is at work presently even though it is Holy Day here. He doesn't get much down time which concerns me somewhat. We aren't spring chickens anymore!!!! The project is moving forward and we are beginning to see the results in road detours around the city as digging for the metro system has begun in earnest.


The heat of summer is beginning to decline and I think we may even need to dig out some pants and sweaters before long. Guess we really have acclimatised! It feels cool to us in the morning and evening. I didn't really believe we would ever find it cool after suffering through 46-50C. Right now the daytime temperature is around 33-36C. A beautiful hot day in Alberta eh! Also we saw our first sand storm this week. It was difficult to breathe even with being outside momentarily. As we drove it was like fog right in front of us. During that time we stay inside if at all possible and don masks if we need to be outside.


As many of you know I applied to and was accepted at BYUI last month to do online studies. Unfortunately our internet goes down randomly and frequently. Because of this I had to withdraw from classes. I was quite disappointed as I love to study and going to that school is on my bucket list.
Hopefully when I return to NA I will have that opportunity.


Life is good here. We feel very blessed in many ways. I still struggle with boredom and in finding purpose in my life here. I have been more homesick than I imagined I would be. At home my family was everything to me and I went from nurturing my own kids to loving and doting on my beautiful grandbabies. I feel as though my arm has been cut off. I don't think I have ever missed anyone like I miss Ruby and Jeneva. I go to the gym every day, I visit other ladies, I do crafts, I go shopping (Ugh!) and anything else I can think of to keep myself busy. Still in even the most random of moments I feel tears well up inside and I struggle to push them down and keep them from falling. Thus the meaning of the title of this blog. I think positively all the time and I keep pleading with the Lord that He will bless me to carry on gracefully. I think a part of what I am experiencing can be likened to "empty nest" syndrome. What do I want to be when I grow up? Who am I now? What is my purpose? What does the Lord require of me? It just happens to be that all of this is happening when I am far away from friends, family and the comforts of my home and lifestyle.


As I share my feelings I hope that you all will know that I am pondering all the scriptures and quotes and thoughts that I have learned over the years. I am working my faith and calling on the powers of Heaven to help me through the struggle. I do like being here and I do recognize all my blessings. I am doing all that I know to do. I know that this too shall pass. It is however, very difficult and any woman here would tell you that living here is not easy in any sense of the word. I have come to appreciate freedom like never before. It is hard to comprehend until it is taken from us. I have had to promise myself that if my heart doesn't change by the end of the school year that I will move home. I hope it will change but if not I will hang in there until then. I hope I am not just succumbing to my weaknesses. Like I said in the beginning of this adventure, I always want to be found willing to submit to the Lord's will.


I will close this post on a positive note. We look forward to having Cortney and Skyler visit us in December. We are most thankful for technology that allows us to communicate daily with those of you at home who are dear to us. We are thankful for our health and safety. We are thankful to be citizens of our true north strong and free. We are thankful for our knowledge of Whose we are and for His ever -present influence in our lives.


Staying afloat,
Clint, Liz and Carli